15 ways to owe less, save more and boost your net worth in 2018

Here are some steps you can take to boost your net worth this year.

Author:
Jamie Friedlander, MagnifyMoney

Published:
6:19 AM EST January 24, 2018

Updated:
6:19 AM EST January 24, 2018

Maybe this is the year you finally want to save enough money to go to Paris with your significant other. Perhaps you just had children, and thoughts are looming about saving for their future college education. Or maybe you've simply decided that you'd like to have enough money to live lavishly once retirement comes.

Whatever the case may be, there are tangible steps you can take to boost your income and improve your overall net worth this year.

The first step is simply calculating your net worth. Understanding your net worth is arguably one of the most important ways to get a clear picture of where you stand financially after hypothetically ridding yourself of liabilities with your assets.

And it's simple to calculate: "Subtract what you owe from what you own," said Tiffany Aliche, a financial educator and founder of the Live Richer Challenge. This January, Aliche, also known as the "Budgetnista," sponsored a multi-week challenge with hundreds of thousands of participants to educate them on the power of boosting their net worth.

Once you know your net worth and determine whether that figure puts you in the red, the next step is a bit more challenging: finding ways to increase it over time.

Get started with these tips to boost your net worth with any or all of the strategies below.

Earn More

Ask for that raise. This is the initial move to take toward increasing your annual earnings. "Start by establishing where you are," said Stefanie O'Connell, author of "The Broke and Beautiful Life."

"Do your research to figure out what the current pay range is for your position by talking to recruiters, speaking to friends and colleagues in similar positions, or by using a website with salary information like Glassdoor or PayScale," she said.

Consider the cost of living in your city when you negotiate, too. An accountant in Charlotte, N.C. might be paid much differently than an accountant in San Francisco, where costs are much higher, for example.

"Establish where you want to go," O'Connell said. "What are the going rates in your field, and where do you fall in that pay range? Given your competency and the value you add to your workplace, where do you think you should fall within that pay range?"

If no raise is possible, ask for something else in its place. If you are denied a raise, don't be afraid to ask for something else, suggests O'Connell. For example, you could ask for equity in your company if it's available to employees. Once that equity is vested (meaning, it's totally available to you to use), you can leverage it in a number of ways and potentially grow it over time if invested properly. That will no doubt boost your net worth.

Other soft perks to consider include a more flexible schedule, more paid time off, access to educational programs, an expense account, a club membership, a bigger office or a new job title.

These may not have a concrete impact on your financial bottom line, but they could definitely add value to your quality of life and make you a more productive worker.

Turn your hobby into a real business. During Aliche's Live Richer Challenge online workshop, she encouraged people to look into starting a side business to bring in additional income.

"I had people create a mind map of what they're good at, what they're passionate about, and [had them] ask their family and friends: Looking at this, what do you think I could start or open?" Aliche said. "Something that's going to increase your income so you can increase how much money you have saved."

Thanks to the gig economy, options for side hustles are endless. If none of the obvious outlets appeal to you (Uber, Favor, Amazon Flex) don't worry. From designing T-shirts and selling them on Etsy to being a remote personal assistant, there are myriad side gig options out there.

"I suggest people do side hustles that are related to what they went to school for or what they're currently doing," Aliche said. "When I was a schoolteacher, I side hustled by tutoring and babysitting. You get paid more because you're already doing it, and there's no learning curve."

Look for unexpected income sources. If your skills have lead to additional side income, look for ways to lock in lucrative business contracts.

Aliche says it snowed in her city recently, and she discovered the city had a contract for $210,000 for snow cleanup. You didn't need a snow plow or even experience to secure the contract. All you needed was a license to drive the vehicle.

In addition, her city's zoo had a $25,000 face-painting budget, and her friend secured the contract because she was the only one who applied. "You have the ability to lock down good money for doing something you're already doing," Aliche said. You need an LLC to secure a contract, but they're typically only around $125, according to Aliche.

Put your tax refund to work. "Most taxpayers who use the standard deduction will get a tax cut this year," said Jane Bryant Quinn, author of "How to Make Your Money Last: The Indispensable Retirement Guide."

"Instead of changing your withholding schedule, consider leaving it alone and collecting the tax cut as a refund in 2019, and save the refund."

Figure out your hourly rate. You can figure out exactly what your time is worth using this Norwegian website by FINN.no AS, an online classified advertising marketplace. This tool is good not only for figuring out what you should charge for freelance or contract work, but also for determining which things you should do, and which you should outsource.

For example, it might be worth your time to hire someone to clean your apartment once a week, or you might find it's easier to do your taxes yourself rather than hiring an accountant.

Invest wisely in your 401(k). If you've already invested a significant amount in your 401(k) and you're younger, Quinn suggests taking more risks. "If you're under 40, don't be afraid of investing 100 percent of your 401(k) or other savings into stock-owning mutual funds," she said. The stock market will fall from time to time, but it tends to rebound in time, and you may be better off riding the rough patches if you're investing for long-term growth.

Start an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). If you don't have a company 401(k), or you've maxed out your contribution for the year, don't worry. "Start an IRA at a low-fee purveyor of mutual funds such as the Vanguard Group or Schwab," Quinn said. "Buy an index fund that follows the U.S. market as a whole or the total U.S. and global markets as a whole."

Look into automatic advising companies like Acorns. If you're interested in investing but aren't sure where to start, Aliche suggests dipping your toes into robo-advising, or services like Acorns, Betterment and Wealthfront. "A lot of people don't know where to begin investing, and that's truly the only way to grow wealth," Aliche said. "You have to invest."

Delay receiving Social Security. "For older people, delaying Social Security collection for even six months can have a big impact on lifetime net worth," said Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economics at the New School for Social Research in New York City and author of "How to Retire with Enough Money." For example, if you delay until age 67, you'll receive 108% of the monthly benefit and if you delay until age 70, you'll get 132% of the monthly benefit.

Reduce expenses

Keep a record of your expenses. This might seem basic, but if you're not doing it yet, you should be. "Keep a record of expenses and review every month," said Ghilarducci. "This one low-energy, low-cost habit can help people identify where they are being overcharged and where they spend money without much pleasure."

Attack your debt head-on. One half of the equation when it comes to increasing net worth is paying off debt. Aliche suggests an automated plan, like Dave Ramsey's well-known debt-snowball method, in which you pay off debts from smallest to largest.

Ghilarducci also emphasizes the importance of paying off debt, especially high-interest debt like credit cards. "If people can pay off all their debts, they earn a guaranteed rate of interest far above what they can earn risk-free in the stock market or anywhere else," she says.

That being said, you should also try to keep saving as you pay down your debts. If you don't have an emergency fund set up for the unexpected expenses, you might find yourself only digging deeper into debt.

Also, consider how much that debt is costing you versus how much you could gain by saving. It might make sense to throw every last penny at that 22% APR credit card. But it might make less sense to forfeit your 401(k) savings in favor of paying off a low-interest mortgage or auto loan more quickly.

Maintain good health. "An overlooked way of saving money is not getting sick," Ghilarducci said. "Everyone over 20 should pretend they have diabetes and eat a diabetic diet. It's good insurance against the rising cost of health care, insurance premiums and copays."

In a less dramatic fashion, you could simply strive to stay on top of your health and preventative treatments that could stave off illness down the road. Maintain your annual checkups and don't let minor health issues spiral out of control.

Find ways to trim expenses. Whether you grab takeout way too many nights a week or have a penchant for Whole Foods, groceries and eating out are a perfect area to cut back. Try shopping at a cheaper grocery store, or making a goal to cook four nights a week. You might even try becoming a vegetarian, temporarily. "Vegetarianism has lots of pluses - it's cheaper and healthier," Ghilarducci said. "A good diet is a good way to raise your lifetime net worth."

Sell unused items in a Facebook Buy/Sell/Trade group. Groups for selling anything and everything abound on Facebook. If you're addicted to shopping at Anthropologie or love rare Nikes, there's a group for you. Some extremely popular groups-such as Lululemon Buy, Sell and Trade - have over 50,000 members.

MagnifyMoney is a price comparison and financial education website, founded by former bankers who use their knowledge of how the system works to help you save money.